''The Elephant Table Album: a compilation of difficult music'' was a 1983

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, released on Xtract Records. The

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

was compiled by music journalist Dave Henderson following a series of articles by him in ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'', the British music paper. It was reissued on CD by the same label in 1989, but with the tracks sourced from the

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

release rather than the

master tape Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all cop ...

, and the number of tracks reduced from 21 to 17. The tracks consisted of a selection by lesser-known

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

artists of the period.

Track listing

Side 1 * Portion Control - Chew You To Bits *

Chris and Cosey Chris & Cosey, sometimes known as Carter Tutti, are a musical duo formed in 1981, consisting of couple Chris Carter (electronics) and Cosey Fanni Tutti (electronics, guitar, cornet), both previously (and currently the sole surviving) members o ...

- Raining Tears Of Blood *

Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

- Musak From Hawthorne Court * Coil - S Is For Sleep * Nurse With Wound - Nana Or A Thing Of Uncertain Nonsense Side 2 * 400 Blows - Beat The Devil *

Konstruktivits Konstruktivits is a British industrial band. Formed in 1982, they were mostly active in the 1980s, with recording activity continuing until today. The band was formed by Glenn Michael Wallis from his previous band Heute, a krautrock-influenced ...

- Andropov '84 *

Lustmord Brian Williams is a Welsh industrial musician, sound designer and film score composer. He is often credited for creating the dark ambient genre with albums recorded under the name Lustmord. His experimental work has been described as "not tra ...

- The Boning Of Men *

Muslimgauze Muslimgauze was the main musical project of Bryn Jones (17 June 1961 – 14 January 1999), a British ethnic electronica and experimental musician who was influenced by conflicts and history in the Muslim world, often with an emphasis on the Isra ...

- Milena Jelenska * David Jackman - Edge of Nothing Side 3 * SPK - Despair * MFH - Vox Humana *

Nocturnal Emissions Nocturnal Emissions is Nigel Ayers's sound art project that has released numerous records and CDs in music styles ranging from electro-acoustic, musique concrète, hybridised beats, sound collage, post-industrial music, ambient and noise musi ...

- Suffering Stinks *

Attrition Attrition may refer to *Attrition warfare, the military strategy of wearing down the enemy by continual losses in personnel and material **War of Attrition, fought between Egypt and Israel from 1968 to 1970 **War of attrition (game), a model of agg ...

- Dream Sleep *

Legendary Pink Dots The Legendary Pink Dots (LPD) are an Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band formed in London in August 1980. In 1984, the band moved to Amsterdam, playing with rotating musicians and having, as core members, singer/songwriter/keyboardist Edward Ka- ...

- Surprise, Surprise * Paul Kelday - Birth of Planetesimals Side 4 *

Bourbonese Qualk Bourbonese Qualk are an experimental music group which existed from 1980 to 2003. The group were participants in the early 80s industrial & experimental music tape scene. Writing for CMJ, Martin Aston characterized Bourbonese Qualk as "post-pun ...

- Under The City *

Sirius B Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CMa ...

- Build Your Children * New 7th Music - New Human Switchbaord (Extract) * We Be Echo - Alleycat *

Bushido is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...

- Modelwerk

Release details

* Catalogue number: Xx001 * Format: Double Vinyl LP (5 September 1983), single CD (1989) *The CD version lacks the tracks by Paul Kelday, We Be Echo, New 7th Music and Muslimgauze.

Influence

Steven Stapleton Steven Peter Stapleton (born 3 February 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the only constant member of experimental improv outfit Nurse with Wound. He is often seen as one of the pioneers of the British industrial music scene, a ...

of Nurse with Wound also did the artwork for the album, and was sufficiently impressed by David Jackman's track that he invited him to collaborate on a series of music projects. The album has been cited as an influence on the EBM genre. Despite the "difficult" nature of the music, one band on the album, 400 Blows, hit the British charts in 1985 with "Movin'", a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of a

Brass Construction Brass Construction was an American funk group formed in Brooklyn, New York, United States, in 1968. They were originally known as Dynamic Soul, and went on to record a string of hit singles and albums through to 1985. Career Signed in 1975 by ...

song.

Three Minute Symphony

A second album, ''Three Minute Symphony'' (XTract XX002), was released in 1984; again it was a double LP compiled by Dave Henderson."This album was the sequel to THE ELEPHANT TABLE ALBUM, also compiled by Sounds music journalist Dave Henderson, featuring a very wide range of post-punk, industrial and noise bands." in

A track list is here

/ref> Each artist was invited to provide a track of approximately three minutes' duration. In contrast to ''The Elephant Table Albums emphasis on British-based music, many of the featured artists were from other countries, including the USA, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Japan. *Side 1 # Kill Ugly Pop Let's Get Real Gone # Ptôse - Waiting For My Soul # Trax - Trax Co Mix 1 #

Die Tödliche Doris Die Tödliche Doris ''(Deadly Doris;'' a pun on ''tödliche Dosis,'' meaning ''lethal dose)'' was a performance art and music group based in West Berlin from 1980 to 1987. It was founded by band members Wolfgang Müller and and later joined by , ...

- Maria # Van Kaye And Ignit - A Slice Of The Action #

Bene Gesserit The Bene Gesserit () refers to a key social, religious, and political force in Frank Herbert's fictional ''Dune'' universe. The group is an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental ...

- White Men *Side 2 # Colin Potter - The State #

Human Flesh "Human Flesh" is the first episode and the series premiere of the animated television series ''Bob's Burgers''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 9, 2011. The episode was written by Loren Bouchard and Jim Dau ...

- L'Ultima Storia # DDAA - Your Mother With A Cake # Point of Collapse - When Worlds Collide # David Jackman - Wolf #

Sema Sama ( tr, Sema, Persian, Urdu and ar, سَمَاع - ''samā‘un'') is a Sufi ceremony performed as part of the meditation and prayer practice dhikr. Sama means "listening", while dhikr means "remembrance".During, J., and R. Sellheim. "Sama ...

- Untitled *Side 3 # Hunting Lodge - Tribal Warning Shot (instrumental) # Roll Kommando - Die Romantik Ist Tot # Stratis - I Fotia #

Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...

- Xa-Bungle #

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the pos ...

- Always Behind You #

Conrad Schnitzler Conrad "Conny" Schnitzler (17 March 1937 – 4 August 2011) was a prolific German experimental musician associated with West Germany's 1970s krautrock movement. A co-founder of West Berlin's Zodiak Free Arts Lab, he was an early member of Tangeri ...

- Three Minute Symphony No 1 *Side 4 # Magamatzu - Bird, Spider, Fly # Hurt - Money Matters # Nurse With Wound - Antacid Cocamotive 93 #

- No Bell, No Prize #

Asmus Tietchens Asmus Tietchens (born 3 February 1947, in Hamburg), who also records under the monikers Hematic Sunsets and Club of Rome, is a German composer of avant-garde music. Tietchens became interested in experimental music and musique concrète as a chi ...

- Dahinter Industriegelande #

Smegma Smegma (Ancient Greek σμῆγμα : ''smēgma'') is a combination of shed skin cells, skin oils, and moisture. It occurs in both male and female mammalian genitalia. In females, it collects around the clitoris and in the folds of the labia min ...

- The Breathing Method

References

2x12" vinyl LP at discogs.comCD entry at discogs.com

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elephant Table Album, the 1983 compilation albums Experimental rock compilation albums Industrial compilation albums Electronic compilation albums Cassette culture 1970s–1990s